In the last post we showed a couple of bubble gum flavored spirits products. Today we have a handful of other candy-related alcohol beverage products, showing that there is no shortage of candy-themed adult beverages. Bols has Candy Cane Liqueur. Ferrin’s has Candy Apple wine. BPNC has a cotton candy cocktail. Baileys has a caramel liqueur. And Crater Lake has “Candy in a Bottle” wine. If the adults, ID, Warning and taste don’t stop the juveniles, maybe the over $10 price will.
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Intoxicating Candy: Part Two
Tags: legally interesting/controversial, policy, unlikely combinations
Highly Flammable Spirits
Bacardi revamped its 151 proof rum labels in May. At almost 76% alcohol, this rum is of course flammable as well as potent. The labeling includes not less than eight warnings to this effect. The bottle also includes a flame arrester. One of the main warnings says, “Do not use this product for flaming dishes or drinks.” It’s a little bit like a Maserati with a warning that you should not exceed 55 mph. We kind of thought flaming drinks were one of the main purposes for this product. If not, we went in search of the more conservative uses for this product. We found very little, with no trace of this product on Bacardi’s US website. This group seems to have no idea what to do with it either. At an even higher concentration of alcohol is Golden Grain Grain Alcohol. It is 95% alcohol and is also plastered with warnings throughout the front, back and neck labels. This is a rare example of TTB allowing warnings other than the specific health warning mandated by Congress (see this for an example of a warning not allowed). It’s hard to say the extra warnings are not warranted here.
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F-Words, F-Bombs and Booze, Part 3
Way back in December of 2008 we ran Part 1 and Part 2. We didn’t really expect to see too many more variations on this theme, or that it could go a whole lot further. But alas we may have underestimated the frat-boy contingent of the alcohol beverage industry. Not that we think it does or should offend any “adult beverage” consumer. Perhaps the liqueur is Chinese and pronounced Fu-Chen. Perhaps the ale is German. It’s quite possible that our mind is in the gutter, and these labels have nothing whatever to do with sex, but we wouldn’t put any money on it. Lest anyone be unduly offended, I have two kids and I am pretty sure it would take something more than this to set them off kilter. The Fokker Ale is made by Azalea Coast Brewing, in Wilmington, North Carolina. The Fuchen Liqueur is herbal liqueur, imported by BPNC of Temperance, Michigan. We appreciate the irony that this liquor company is situated in Temperance of all places, and a lot of other people apparently felt the same way, as the company has recently changed its name to The Temperance Distilling Company.
Continue Reading Leave a CommentTags: legally interesting/controversial, policy, risqué, sexual, sin, speech, would you approve it?
Serving Facts on Bacardi Island Breeze
This Bacardi Island Breeze label blew in with a bang, in late 2005, and blew out quickly thereafter. Bacardi apparently had big plans for this “lite spirit.” The company booked Kim Cattrall for print and TV ads. But just a few years later, there is almost no trace of this brand or the ads. This label remains significant because it is one of the very few that refers to a Serving Size of 1.5 fluid ounces, and the “USDA National Nutrient Database.” TTB is moving toward requiring this information, in an expanded way, on all alcohol beverage labels. Diageo has pointed to this label and grumbled that it should be allowed to do something similar, too. This product is also one of very few using sucralose as a sweetener.
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Gallo Beware?
I am pleased to share a guest post, from Paul Jorgensen. Paul is an attorney in Washington, D.C.
For readers thinking of registering a surname as a trademark for their beverage, please consider a recent case by the judicial branch of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). According to In re Hall Wines, Serial No. 78926151 (February 10, 2009), anything that looks like a surname in your mark must be, above all, unique. The PTO usually refuses marks that are surnames, reasoning that if the PTO grants registration to that name, others may be unfairly stopped from using their name on their business, products or services. Since distillers and wineries often think of branding their products with family names, famous names, or names of well-known craftsmen, the resulting marks are frequently refused. So distillers and wineries should have a clear understanding of how the PTO will review their proposed mark. If the PTO thinks your application contains a surname, they will put the proposed mark through four tests, often referred to as Benthin factors after a case with the same name (In re Benthin Management GmbH, 37 USPQ2d 1332, 1334 (TTAB 1995)):
- How rare is the surname? The PTO will research this or...
Tags: legally interesting/controversial, policy, trademarks-beverage
Zubrowka
An anonymous reader wrote to us about this Zubrowka label as follows:
Free Range Vodka? As if there weren’t already enough confusion with health food terms like organic, natural, cage-free, and free-range, we’ve found a product that extends the health craze to alcoholic beverages. Meet Zubrowka, bottled with “neutralized” buffalo grass. What exactly is neutralized buffalo grass? Well, your guess is as good as ours. But if one were to assume that by neutralizing it, it is rendered somewhat inactive or less potent, that begs the question, why bother adding the ingredient in the first place? So, the purpose of adding a neutralized ingredient is definitely curious, but the label’s image may give us some clues. The image of a large, muscular, and almost fearsome bison dominates the label. One could assume the message here is that by ingesting the very essence of what these imposing creatures thrive on, the drinker would too be infused with virility and strength.
In fact, there is a good reason it’s neutralized. Real bisongrass raises serious health concerns as suggested by Bill Dowd here. Zubrowka is native to Poland and goes back at least 500 years.
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